


Geeking Out- Movie Marathon

by mythras_fire



Series: Geeking Out [4]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, Mild Language, Movie Night, POV Tony Stark, Steve Rogers is made of win, Tony Stark Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-02
Updated: 2015-04-01
Packaged: 2018-03-20 17:11:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3658506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mythras_fire/pseuds/mythras_fire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So, anyway, Tony declares that, for the next couple of months, whenever they have a night off from saving the world, the two of them are going to watch a movie to help Cap catch up on all the epic pop culture moments he’s missed out on while he was busy being a Capsicle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Let the Epic Movie Marathon Commence!

~*~

It starts out as a convenient way for Tony to show Steve all the popular culture he’s missed out on for the last 70 years – and more importantly – as a way for Tony to avoid having to needlessly explain himself for the rest of his life whenever he wants to use a coined phrase.

Cuz that shit gets old. Real fast.

It degrades into a competition in about 10 seconds flat. What, you’re surprised? This is Tony Stark and Captain America we’re talking about here. Tony doesn’t care what anyone says, Steve Rogers has one of the meanest competitive streaks he’s ever seen.

And he plays dirty.

Betcha didn’t see that one coming. Tony sure as hell doesn’t and it just about blindsides him.

No really, one night he actually gets tackled bodily to the floor by 200+ lbs. of blonde-haired, blue-eyed perfection. It’s the only time in his life that Tony has enjoyed getting the wind knocked out of him and probably bruising some ribs in the process. The blowjob and cuddling (shut up, it’s nice, and he’s so warm!) afterward as an apology – or was it to make him say uncle? – are totally worth it. At this point he can’t even remember what instigated the one-man dog pile but he doesn’t really care either.

So, anyway, Tony declares that, for the next couple of months, whenever they have a night off from saving the world, the two of them are going to watch a movie to help Cap catch up on all the epic pop culture moments he’s missed out on while he was busy being a Capsicle. 

However, the aforementioned competition springs forth from Steve’s insistence on also watching movies from his own generation. Tony almost throws a hissy fit about having to watch grainy movies in black and white where the camera never zooms in, limited to panning from left to right, and everyone sits around saying “Now look here, see…” while smoking like a chimney. But he ain’t a genius for nothin’ and ~~chokes~~ swallows down his pride when he sees the wistful, nostalgic look on Steve’s face as he scrolls through the movie selections on Netflix.

Tony is so whipped.

But it’s all good. Tony is perceptive when he wants to be. He concedes this point to Steve on the condition that for every golden age movie Steve picks, Tony gets to pick a movie that was made in glorious Technicolor and involves the use of computers and other tech in the movie-making process or onscreen. Steve looks at him like he’s making a mountain out of a molehill and being adorable in the process but Tony doesn’t notice, what with his head chock full of all the awesome possibilities for movie night.

They start by each making lists of the movies they want to see.

Steve produces a pen from out of thin air (or possibly the front pocket of his chinos) and writes down the movies – on a real piece of paper even – that he’d always wanted to see with Bucky but didn’t have the money for, and postwar releases spanning into the 50’s. 

Tony would protest that there are plenty of perfectly good holographic screens to type on but it’s just too cute. Besides, Steve has killer cursive handwriting, because they still cared about things like penmanship in the horse and buggy days.

Tony dictates to JARVIS his own list of ridiculously awesome epics, cult classics, and sappy, schmoopy films Tony knows Steve will love but will make Tony wish he could turn off his ears as easily as he can close his eyes against the onslaught of syrupy love montages and happily-ever-afters. 

Because this is how you show someone you fucking love them. 

One of these movies was probably also the culprit behind that floor pounding, which means it’s likely to happen again sometime soon. Tony's thinking of casually tossing some throw pillows on the floor when the movie starts, just in case. He doesn’t want to get more rug burns on his knees…

~*~

STEVE’S LIST  
1\. Bringing up Baby (1938)  
2\. The Wizard of Oz (1939)  
3\. Gone with the Wind (1939)  
4\. His Girl Friday (1940)  
5\. Fantasia (1940)  
6\. Dumbo (1941)  
7\. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)  
8\. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)  
9\. Rebel without a Cause (1955)  
10\. Some Like It Hot (1959)

~*~

TONY’S LIST  
1\. 007: Thunderball – 1965 (Sean Connery _is_ Bond)  
2\. Blazing Saddles – 1974 (Mel Brooks FTW)  
3\. Star Wars – 1977 (The good aka original trilogy)  
4\. Star Trek – 1979 (Original and 2009 reboot)  
5\. The Terminator – 1984 (“I’ll be bahhk…”)  
6\. The Princess Bride – 1987 (“That’s inconceivable!”)  
7\. Forrest Gump – 1994 (“Run Forrest Run!”)  
8\. Titanic – 1997 (It’s historical, okay? Shut it)  
9\. The Lord of the Rings I, II,  & III – 2001 (Legolas/Aragorn OTP)  
10\. Love, Actually – 2003 (Colin Firth <3)

~*~


	2. Old School Air Popper \O/

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What’s all this?”
> 
> “This, babe, is everything you need to make kickass homemade movie popcorn!” Tony says proudly.

~*~

After a quick trip to the grocery store one night to make sure he has all the necessary provisions, Tony sets out all the accoutrements on the kitchen counter in his suite of rooms at the Tower. He asks JARVIS to round up Steve wherever he is (probably the gym) and tell him to get his pert little ass up here so they can get all set up for the first movie.

Tony gives himself a mental high-five when Steve sidles into Tony’s rooms five minutes later all sweaty in a wifebeater and grey sweats. Tony makes a sweeping motion with his left hand over the counter as if to say “voilà!”

“What’s all this?”

“This, babe, is everything you need to make kickass homemade movie popcorn!” Tony says proudly, pulling Steve in for a sultry hello kiss, pressing their chests together and sighing at the surge of warmth the super soldier infuses into the embrace. It had taken some doing but Tony had successfully convinced Steve early on in their relationship that he really, _really_ didn’t mind him in fresh-from-the-gym mode, all sweaty and flushed from beating the actual stuffing out of punching bags. 

When Tony pulls back to see Steve’s white tank-top plastered to his chiseled abs, his genius brain may or may not pop a few breakers and Tony has to clear his throat and turn back to the waiting ingredients to keep himself focused.

Tony explains how the air popper works and gives Steve directions for when to add the melted butter and they both watch in excitement after the popcorn kernels start bursting to life in sudden, sharp POP! POP! POP!’s. Having factored in the good captain’s ability to put Dagwood Bumstead to shame, he has three huge, wide-brimmed glass bowls at the ready for the mountain of popcorn that eventually comes pouring out the spout of the air popper.

Tony usually lets someone else do the popping and it usually comes out of a microwave bag without fanfare but Steve deserves to experience the childlike joy that comes from watching your very own popcorn kernels explode into fluffy goodness. 

Watching Steve try to ignore the way he screamed like a girl when the first popcorn kernel exploded unexpectedly and caught him off guard as he was talking to Tony? 

Priceless.

~*~


	3. Boyhood Crush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Cary Grant was quite a looker, wasn’t he?” Tony asks later when the cinematographer actually goes in for a close-up during one of the climatic scenes. Woohoo, go 1930’s camera lenses.

~*~

They start off watching one of Steve’s movies because, frankly, Tony has a hard time saying no to him. Not gonna lie. Cap taking his sweaty tank-top off and stretching out on the couch in the middle of asking Tony if he could select the first movie had nothing to do with it.

Nopes. Not a thing… (Man, if Steve ever goes over to the Dark Side, Tony is _so_ screwed.)

“1938?! Holy crap. How old were you when this movie came out?” Tony is randomly weirded out by this statement. It’s not every day that you ask your boyfriend how old he was when a movie came out during which time you weren’t even a twinkle in your mother’s eye. Unless, maybe, you’re one of Hugh Heffner’s Bunnies… Tony makes a face and shudders. 

Train-of-thought!FAIL. Quick, find something shiny!

Tony turns away from the opening credits to gaze at Cap’s beauteous chest and sighs with relief. Steve apparently mistakes Tony’s shivering for a non-verbal request for a cuddle – he never really gets around to actually asking for them because why should he have to when Steve’s always misinterpreting his random inner-monologue!FAILs? See, genius! – and throws his right arm around Tony’s shoulders, pulling him in closer before answering.

“Let’s see, um, 1938…” Steve looks down at his left hand as he does some mental math with his fingers. Tony thinks this is adorable but keeps it to himself. “I was 19 or 20, depending on when the movie was released.”

“Bringing Up Baby _was distributed by RKO Radio Pictures on February 18, 1938, four months and 16 days before Captain Rogers’ 20th birthday,”_ JARVIS supplies helpfully.

“Ah, well that settles that. Thanks, J.”

_“My pleasure, sir.”_

Turns out the movie isn’t half bad, actually. It’s a screwball comedy – there’s a friggin’ leopard in it!

“‘Baby’ isn’t exactly the first name that springs to mind when faced with a leopard sporting incisors the length of my hand, ya know?” Tony quips as Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant try to stay out of the way of said incisors while cooped up together in a house out in the country.

Steve chuckles beside him, the movement gently rocking against Tony’s cheek where he’s nestled into the other man’s chest. “Yeah, wouldn’t be my first choice either.”

“Cary Grant was quite a looker, wasn’t he?” Tony asks later when the cinematographer actually goes in for a close-up during one of the climatic scenes. Woohoo, go 1930’s camera lenses.

When no answer is forthcoming, Tony stretches up to look at Steve’s face and ooh blush alert! 

“Why, Captain, I do believe your face is all a’flush!” Tony strokes his chest a few times before teasing him some more. “Did you have a crush on him?!”

In answer, Tony gets a faceful of popcorn. He’ll take that as a yes.

~*~


	4. Legolas/Aragorn OTP

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He’d already told Cap to watch out for this scene once, twice—okay fine, like every five minutes since Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli started tracking Merry and Pippin’s trail. But still!

~*~

The thought springs up out of nowhere. Okay, well, maybe not so much out of _nowhere;_ Tony has a pretty good idea from whence it came but he can’t even blame anyone else because he compiled this movie list by himself dammit. Then he had the not-so-brilliant-in-hindsight idea to skip around instead of going in chronological order like Steve was doing, the big organized goober.

How was Tony supposed to know that watching all the sappy movies first to get them out of the way would come back to bite him in the ass in such spectacular fashion?! He’s just a victim of circumstance here, really. 

~ And Wesley saying “As you wish” to Buttercup.

~ And Forrest Gump sitting on that damn bus stop bench.

~ And that steamy handprint smacking the coach window on the Titanic.

Tony and Steve are currently snuggled up on the love seat (omg even the furniture’s out to get him) watching _The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers_ and Tony’s favorite scene is coming up next and he squeezes Steve’s right arm a little tighter in anticipation. He’d already told Cap to watch out for this scene once, twice—okay fine, like every five minutes since Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli started tracking Merry and Pippin’s trail. But still! Tony feels the hand at the end of the arm being held captive in his here-comes-the-best-part!grip caress the tops of his knees in acknowledgement and smiles.

~ And Aragorn saying _Hannon le_ when Legolas gives him back the Evenstar.

~ And Legolas staring deeply into Aragorn’s eyes before nodding his head in acquiescence.

~ And the love, man. So much love in one little look. Sacrificed for duty and the greater good.

Tony sighs audibly when the short reunion scene in the hallways of Helm’s Deep is over, and stretches like a cat before readjusting his position curled into Cap’s right side, releasing the death grip he’d held on Steve’s arm.

Steve waits for Tony to get comfortable and then drapes his right arm over Tony’s lower back, his hand tracing an aimless trail over the skin of his exposed hipbone where it peeks out from the top of his worn Levi’s.

“See? What did I tell you. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is,” Tony sighs into Steve’s sternum. He feels and hears Steve chuckle from both in and outside his chest, echoing strangely in his ears.

“So this Evenstar is a token of love from Elves, then?”

“Yes! Exactly. In the films anyway. And you’ll notice that he never says thank you to Arwen when she tries to give it to him, keeps trying to give it back even. But with Legolas…” Tony trails off to let Steve connect the dots, smart cookie that he is.

“Ahh, but with Legolas, he seems to be at a loss for words to be receiving such a gift from him.”

“Mmmhmmm, that’s what the analyst said in her frame-by-frame analysis of this scene. I just wish she’d elaborated on that point more.”

“Frame-by-frame analysis?”

Tony does not blush. That he turns his face down further over Cap’s pecs is so that he can better see Aragorn striding around Helm’s Deep like a boss, trying to quell Legolas’ logical and also telling concern for his fate in the upcoming battle. Really.

Tony picks at the drawstring on Cap’s sweats to have something to fiddle with. “Uh, yeah, it’s pretty awesome. I’ll show it to you after the movie. Best film school analysis I’ve ever seen, not that I’ve seen many or anything. But it’s just so interesting to watch someone take apart a scene like that, like when I’m working with exploded assembly charts for the armors, only with camera angles and zoom perspectives, and number of frames used to convey a point, etc.” 

He can practically hear the smile in Steve’s voice when he says, “okay, looking forward to it,” which makes him smile like the geek in love that he is.

~*~


	5. Inception Made Me Do It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just to be clear, Tony holds the sappy movies on his list accountable for going all _Inception_ on his ass and planting this idea in his head.

~*~

*Ahem* Riiiight, back to the Thought. The one that’s been rattling around in Tony’s head all week, going through every permutation imaginable. Tony mentally cringes at the sheer number of possibilities. And that’s just the asking! The number of possible responses is exponential. 

Oh and look at that. His inner-monologue!FAIL is at it again. *sigh*

Ok, let’s try this again, shall we?

Just to be clear, Tony holds the sappy movies on his list accountable for going all _Inception_ on his ass and planting this idea in his head. 

To ask Steve to move in with him.

At the Tower.

Into Tony’s suite.

Yeps. Maybe he should add _Inception_ to his list. Mmmmm, Arthur/Eames action-packed goodness. 

But yeah. With the asking.

Once it crosses his mind, he can’t stop thinking about it. He tries to come up with different ways to broach the subject. Some are casual, off-the-cuff, others attempt to be witty and rehearsed, and a few are a combination of the two. 

They’ve been dating for a while now, they already live and work and play together. This would just be one step closer. To what? Tony’s not entirely sure. He is sure that he wants to make Steve happy. And since he kind of considers his suite of rooms at the Tower to be his sanctuary (whereas he views the workshop as his home- Dummy and You and the armors and all that jazz), he figures asking Cap to share this space with him would be Tony’s best shot at showing his “feelings”.

See, those romantic comedies are frying his poor genius brains…

~*~

Tony gets his shot the night Cap finally returns home from the mission that would not end. 

Twice already that week JARVIS had informed Tony that Cap and the two scary-ass assassins he still couldn’t believe he let live under his roof would be coming home late on the given day. 

Twice Tony had worked himself up into a nervous frenzy of energy, walking around the workshop with a wrench in one hand and a blow torch in the other, running through the top 5 ways to ask Steve to move in with him, gesticulating wildly as he said each one out loud. 

After nearly setting Dummy on fire when he tried to serve Tony his dinner the first night they were due back and Tony turned around, blow torch ablaze in synchrony with the ire he directed at his indecision, JARVIS made sure the blow torch and several other hazardous materials were out of reach before delivering the news that the SHIELD team’s departure had been delayed. 

The second time their departure was delayed, JARVIS locked up the armors and sent Tony to Bruce’s lab under the pretext of fixing one of his microscopes. Tony knows Bruce and JARVIS are in cahoots but sometimes he wonders just how big the AI’s crush on the good doctor really is.

Cuz it totally worked goddammit.

When JARVIS broke the news that the team had been delayed a second time, Tony couldn’t very well have his hissy fit in the middle of Bruce’s lab, now could he? No. He just complained of a splitting headache, which was no lie, and decided to go stand under the showerhead for a while. 

So you can imagine Tony’s feelings of equal parts joyous relief and nervous dread when he sees Cap jump down from the Quinjet while it's still a good 50 feet above the helipad outside the common floor of the Tower and stroll into the lounge like it ain’t no thang. Oh, the joys of being a super soldier. 

He’s decided on his phrasing, going with an old stand-by that is sure to give him the opening he needs to slip the question right in there. It’s going to sound a little out of the blue no matter what but whatever. 

It’s go time. Either put up or shut up. And when has Tony Stark ever been known to shut up? (Hey, don’t answer that, it was rhetorical!)

All of a sudden Tony’s heart is pounding so hard he’s worried it’s going to make the arc reactor malfunction but then a warm tingling sensation spreading throughout his chest reminds him that Extremis is already coming to the rescue to help return his heartrate to normal. And his fuzzy brain remembers that he doesn’t have a heart condition anymore. And that he should probably focus on breathing right now. 

Apparently even Extremis can’t do anything for the sound of all that blood rushing by his ears though, so he wipes his suddenly sweaty hands on his jeans and takes one last deep breath before plunging into the deep.

~*~


	6. Looks Like You're Finally Gonna Get Your Wings, Clarence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And then his world expands again and Tony has to remind himself that he should be paying attention because Steve’s talking but the amazing part is _what_ he’s saying.

~*~

“Hey, Cap,” Tony says, hoping his voice doesn’t betray his nervousness. If Cap notices that Tony doesn’t go in for his usual “kiss me now, fuck me later” welcome back greeting, he doesn’t show it, for which Tony is glad, cuz he needs his head in the game.

“Tony,” Steve replies with a big smile, pulling the cowl back over his head, pushing a hand through his hat-hair, making a hot mess of it and totally _not_ making this any easier, thankyouverymuch.

Tony goes for nonchalance, leaning up against the kitchen counter as Cap removes his gloves and grabs a glass to fill with water. “How’d it go?”

Steve looks up from where he’s got the glass under the faucet and replies, “It went pretty well, we had containment under wraps, until well, we didn’t,” he says with that aww-shucks-Eagle-Scout-earnestness that used to make Tony wanna wipe that smile right off his face. Nowadays it makes him wanna jump his bones.

Funny how time changes a person.

“How’ve you been?”

Right on cue. Tony swallows past the glass shards that have replaced the muscles in his throat and says, “Well, that depends.” He casts a nervous eye at the helipad where he can see Barton making his way towards the sliding door.

“Yeah? On what?” Cap looks intrigued, bending forward to refill his glass for the third time in like, 30 seconds. What is he, a camel?

“On…” Tony starts to answer but at that moment Barton slinks through after opening the sliding door as little as necessary and heads straight for the elevator after acknowledging them both. Probably off to the shooting range to fill target papers with a quiver full of exploding arrows.

Once Tony hears the “swoosh” sound of the elevator doors closing, checks for signs of Romanov out on the balcony and sees her still doing post-flight checks in the Quinjet, he finishes his sentence.

“…on if you’d like to move into my suite of rooms. Here. At the Tower. Together.” He’s not watching Steve’s face, he’s watching his hands still with the glass of water half-way to his lips.

“Oh,” is all the Captain says a moment before the hands resume their path and he takes a nice big swig of water. Tony’s world shrinks down to the sight and sound of Steve’s Adam’s apple bobbing as he gulps the cool liquid.

And then his world expands again and Tony has to remind himself that he should be paying attention because Steve’s talking but the amazing part is _what_ he’s saying.

“Hmmm, yeah, we should think about what would be best to keep and share and what could be left in my rooms downstairs, right? I haven’t really seen what the inside of your closets look like but seeing as they have their own room, I’m not too worried,” he chuckles. “When did you want to move my stuff in?”

The speed and alacrity with which Cap shifts from being momentarily surprised to taking the reins and planning the logistics make Tony wish he could shake Dr. Erskine’s hand once again. The warmth and joy showing on Cap’s face and in his tone of voice while he asks these questions, his heart on his sleeve, make Tony wish he could hug Barnes for being the best friend Steve could have asked for.

Tony has to clear his throat before croaking out, “Um, Jay?”

 _“The most advisable time to move Captain Rogers’ belongings into your suite is four days from now, Sir, on Wednesday, when neither of you have any scheduled briefings or appointments,”_ JARVIS supplies helpfully.

“Great,” Steve answers before Tony can even open his mouth to reply. He rinses out his cup, sets it on the drying rack, and heads into the living room, a bewildered Tony in tow.

He plops down on the couch and pats the cushion next to him. Tony has kind of a stupid grin on his face by this point as everything starts to sink in.

Steve is going to move in with him. Just like that.

He has to mentally kick himself because Steve’s talking again and it might help if Tony actually listens.

“—next in the movie queue?”

“It’s A Wonderful Life, _distributed by RKO Radio Pictures on December 20, 1946. Produced and directed by Frank Capra, starring James Stewart and Donna Reed. Considered by many to be one of the most well-regarded films in American cinema, with a traditional annual viewing at Christmastime.”_

“Oh goody, I’ve been hearing about this one, and Jimmy Stewart always seemed to have a knack for captivating audiences, it was fun to look around at the audience on the rare chance when Bucky and I got to go to the pictures. He had a calm, laid-back demeanor that came through in his voice and acting.”

Tony bursts out laughing as a random flashback of Jim Carrey’s Jimmy Stewart impression from one of his stand-up routines shoots through his head at the speed of sound. His outburst also jars him from his stupor and he manages to shake his hands in front of his chest in the universal sign for 'Wait, no, I wasn’t laughing at you!'

Steve smiles complacently and asks, “What were you laughing at?”

Hah. What indeed.

“Two things. One, that we’re going to have to start a whole new list for all of the non-movie epic cultural moments that make references to the movies we’re watching because there’s this awesome comedian-slash-actor named Jim Carrey who can do voice impressions like you wouldn’t believe, plus he seriously has this rubber face that he can – no, don’t look at me like I’m crazy, you know what I mean – he can rearrange his features to look like a gazillion different people. Including Jimmy Stewart. And we totally have to add _Ace Ventura_ to the list. Omg. And the sequel. I don’t care what people say, not all sequels suck.”

Steve’s laughing now. Probably at Tony’s runaway mouth. But it’s all good. Why? Because he’s moving in with Tony. Oh yeah. That’s going to be Tony’s answer to _everything_ for a good long while.

Which brings him to the second thing…

“Okay, sounds awesome. I love a good comedian,” Steve responds with a dorky smile on his ridiculously handsome face. “And the other thing?” He leans more into Tony's side, one hand tracing the inner thigh seam of Tony's Levi's, his curiosity showing through in his lovely blue eyes.

Ahahaha…

“The other thing I was laughing at is so clichéd and corny it’ll make you groan,” Tony attempts to say with a straight face. 

Whoa. That statement certainly seems to light a fire in Cap’s eyes. “Oh yeah?” Steve counters with a leer as JARVIS begins streaming the movie’s opening credits on the plasma screen that neither one of them pays any heed. He encroaches upon Tony’s personal space, hands creeping up the sides of Tony’s body. 

“I said groan, not moan,” Tony does _not_ squeak out an octave higher than usual.

“Semantics,” Cap retorts in a husky voice, his body having successfully cornered Tony’s between the cushions and the back of the sofa. He settles his weight on top of Tony’s chest to then whisper in his ear, “What is it that will make me groan?”

All the blood in Tony’s brain is flying south for the winter so it takes him a second to gather his scattered wits about him.

The tinny sound of George Bailey talking to Clarence about his wings in the background is more or less white noise in Tony’s ears as he looks up into Steve’s dancing blue eyes. He lets Extremis flash through where there’s skin on skin contact and watches in delight as Steve gasps at the heat.

“I was thinking that it really is a wonderful life now that you’re in it,” he whispers in answer before pulling Steve’s head down for a tender kiss that has a heat all its own.

Steve does indeed groan but Tony can’t be sure about the exact cause.

But it’s all good. Why? Because, well, you know…

~*~


End file.
